Author's Note: This chapter has been re-written. Sorry if there are any typos :)

It felt as if the world was spinning. She wasn't sure why though, but there was a ringing sound in her ears, the type of ringing that made her want to cover them. Ino lifted her head up a little bit, groaning as the dizziness got worse. Panic swelled through her body as she felt her arms and legs become extremely numb.

"Now now, don't move too fast. You'll just open up that wound even more."

What wound?

Opening her eyes, Ino looked up and saw how the sky was almost pitch black. The tree branches above her were bare, causing her to wonder for a moment if something had plucked all of the leaves out. The coolness of the night caused her to groan uncomfortably again, her blue eyes closing tightly. Why was her head still spinning?

"You're cold."

Ino's eyes opened quickly, the familiarity of the voice causing chills down her spine. Victor…

Panicking, the blonde Kunoichi began to move but something stiff by her abdomen stopped her.

"I said not to move too much," Victor said, his hand caressing her bare stomach.

"Don't...touch...me."

Victor laughed before leaning down and grabbing her face forcibly, causing her to groan in pain.

"Your boy hasn't arrived yet," the man said, grabbing the weak Kunoichi by her shoulders and lifting her off the ground. "The hunters must be shredding him into pieces."

Ino glared at the man in front of her even though his tight grip on her shoulders was what stopped her from collapsing on the ground. She could feel her hair spread all around her face, which meant that at some point her usual high ponytail had been undone. Slowly, she could feel her senses coming to her and with that came the sudden pain in her abdomen. Groaning, she looked down and gasped upon seeing blood by her stomach and looking back up at her enemy, she recalled everything.

The battle had started not too long ago; the darkness quickly engulfing the whole area. The loud thump of the Hunters running around caused the Shinobis to retreat back. Nonetheless, they knew that such dark fog would arise; it was the perfect way to falter's the ninjas' attacks. However, they had also underestimated the strength of a couple of them. Wasting no time, Sasuke had quickly used his fireball jutsu to burn a good amount of the Hunters as they were coming out of the portals.

For a while, things seemed to be on their side until portals began to open from all over the area, making it harder for Ino to figure out from where the next attack would occur. Despite the darkness, she knew that she would take her chances and look for Gaara; however, that plan was quickly scratched as she had heard a loud groan from behind. Turning around, her eyes widened as she saw one of the Hunter's claws impale Chouji from his stomach. It hadn't been a regular stab either; the monster's entire arm had gone through her friend's body. It had sneered at Chouji but before it was able to harm her friend, Ino had quickly attacked it.

She had known that her chances of winning against the thing were small, but seeing Chouji's pale face caused an anger within her that she couldn't control.

Upon sensing her presence, the Hunter threw Chouji to the side and faced her before extending its bloody arm towards her…

Ino shuddered again, feeling a cold breeze hit her. Unlike before, she was quickly able to sense her surroundings and was shocked to see that there was no darkness. Instead, it was bright and sunny… But it wasn't the same daylight that she was used to. No, this was different….

"Well, looks like you woke up earlier than anticipated."

Blinking several times, Ino sat up and saw Victor walking in circles around her. His stare was intense with arms behind his back. But the Kunoichi didn't let that get to her. She glared back at him.

"This is not Konoha. Wh-Where am I?"

Victor laughed as he stopped walking, this time standing right in front of her. "Smart girl you are, Ino Yamanaka. We are not in Konoha. I have brought you to a different location."

The atmosphere seemed different, and something that confused her even more was the fact that there were two suns instead of one. Fear began to swell in her chest as the thought of her being in a different world went through her mind.

"Take me back to Konoha." she quickly said, her hands trembling against the unfamiliar grass.

Victor laughed as he crouched in front of her. Ino shifted back slightly as his head came dangerously close to hers.

"But my dear, Konoha isn't that far from here. Just turn around and see for yourself."

For a second, she pondered whether to follow his actions or not. But upon hearing what sounded like battle noise, Ino slowly turned her head and gasped. Not too far behind her, maybe a couple of yards away, was a large portal. But it wasn't the portal that shocked her; it was the fact that she could see the dark environment of the battlefield; the shinobis fighting those beasts. She could see Konoha.

Despite the man's proximity towards her, Ino crawled away from him and stood on shaking legs. The pain in her abdomen arose again and looking down, she noticed the falling bandages. Her wound was still bleeding and her chakra was low.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Ino yelped as Victor grabbed her hair and pulled her back forcibly. Her back hit his chest as the man lowered his head and whispered in her ear, his fist still grabbing her hair.

"Did you seriously think that I was going to let you go?"

The blonde girl winced loudly as he continued to pull her hair while speaking his next sinister words.

"I want him to come," he said, and Ino knew that he was referring to Gaara. Victor let out a chuckle, pulling a syringe from behind and swiftly injecting her with a red liquid.

Ino tensed as she felt the needle by her neck, memories of when her and Tenten being trapped underground with needles attached to their bodies coming back to her head. Her vision began to blur as she heard the man's next words.

"I'm going to make your nightmare come true," he said as he started to lay her numbing body on the ground.

Ino whimpered as she tried to fight off the numbness, but knew that would be impossible. Victor hovered over her body, placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"Don't worry, it won't be right away. I am going to wait for him to come."

Ino gasped loudly for air as she felt her throat compress. The next set of words caused her to panic even more as darkness began to take over.

"I'm going to wait for him, that way he can see what I am about to do to you."

The next hour felt like an eternity, but by the time she regained consciousness, Ino gasped suddenly and loudly as she felt cold water on her face, some of it going into her nostrils. As she coughed loudly, she heard Victor laugh as he walked around her.

"See, told you she was still alive! Did you seriously think I was going to kill her?"

Although she felt slightly disoriented, Ino was well aware that he was not talking to her. Her eyesight was still blurry as she became more conscious of the fact that she was on her hands and knees and right in front of her was a body of water. Her wet hair was spread around her back and shoulders, the ends touching the ground. Before she was able to lift her head up and see who he was talking to, Victor grabbed her hair and raised her to her feet, causing the Kunoichi to shut her eyes tightly and wince in pain.

"Is this enough proof for you?" Victor asked, and Ino opened her eyes.

A gasp of relief escaped from her as she saw Gaara standing not too far from them. His gaze met hers, and although his facial expression remained neutral, Ino knew that Gaara was coming up with a plan. One thing she admired about him was that he barely portrayed emotions in a battle.

"You want to kill me, correct?" Gaara asked, his gaze back at the man.

"Yes, and I want her to watch." Victor said with a cruel smile.

Ino didn't say anything as she took notice of Gaara's bloodied right hand and the fact that his gourd was not present on his back. Fear quickly took over her body as she wondered how Gaara was even going to fight. He must have fought several of those Hunters before finding her.

"Then let her go,"

"Why of course. But first," Turning Ino's head to the side, Victor placed a kiss on her lips before throwing her harshly onto the ground. "I just had to have a taste of her first."

Ino spat on the ground and wiped her lips with the back of her hand, glaring up at Victor. "You will die…"

The man laughed at her threat while taking a few steps closer to Gaara. Not paying mind to her, he looked straight at the red-head in front of him. "Why don't we do this old school style?" he said while pulling out a long sword. "It's been a long time since I've used this beauty!"

Ino's eyebrows furrowed as she stared at Gaara worryingly. He carried no sword. However, his next actions surprised her as she saw Gaara's sand armor suddenly leave his body and take the shape of a sword.

"Nice trick," he said, before turning his head back towards Ino, "Now watch me kill him, darling."

Tenten had her eyes on him the moment he had exited the portal. She had remembered the description Mila Rose had given her of the man who Tenten refused to call father.

She knew that Neji had sensed her desire for revenge, but at this moment she did not care. This was her only chance to confront the man and ask him all of her questions.

He stood close to six-feet tall with brown shoulder-length hair. In the midst of chaos and destruction, he stood calm with a strange looking large weapon hanging from his shoulder. Unlike the other strange men, his white uniform looked different and Tenten wondered if maybe he was their leader.

Walking over to him with her heart beating fast in anticipation, Tenten blocked the noise around her. For those couple of minutes, she forgot about the deadly creatures running wildly around her. For some odd reason, the man stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest and upon turning his head, Tenten stopped with a gasp. To say that she looked like him was an understatement. His brown eyes, just like hers, scanned the area with a deadly look in them and Tenten quickly knew that he was strong; someone to not take lightly.

Tenten found it strange that he stood still as he observed the chaos around him. She wondered if he was glad about the casualty that his men were causing. Gulping, she continued to walk towards him.

The man turned his head again, this time finally taking notice of the Kunoichi.

Tenten stopped in her tracks again as she stared wide-eyed at him. What should she call him? How should she call him? Years and years of seeing her female peers call their fathers different names: papa, dad, father….

Her mind running through multiple thoughts distracted her from the danger that was around her. With her eyes still wide and heart beating fast, the Kunoichi didn't notice how her father raised the weapon in his hands and pointed it towards her…

In that instant, her mind blanked as the white light quickly approached her.

Neji knew Tenten's determination. Whenever she wanted to accomplish something, she would set her mind to it and do it. She was never one to sit around and allow others to do it for her. She works hard for her accomplishes, and doesn't stop. It's one of the things he loves about her…

Nonetheless, her new determination was a dangerous one. Even though she didn't tell him anything, he knew what she was thinking. He knew that before the battle ended, she would confront the man who fathered her. The man who could have actually acted as a father and been there for her.

The moment the man exited his own portal and stood there, simply watching the chaos around him, Neji knew that this man was to be taken seriously. And that hypothesis was proven to be true the moment he raised his weapon towards Tenten and fired, causing Neji to use everything within him to get to her on time.

Seconds before the white blast could have obliterated her, Neji wrapped his arms around her and shifted to the side, the blast missing them by just inches.

After rolling on the ground several times, Neji helped Tenten to her feet and cupped her face with his hands.

"What were you thinking?!"

"I needed to see him! I needed to talk to him!"

"Tenten, he was ready to kill you. He's the enemy."

"I know," she said, nodding her head, "But before killing him, I want him to look at me and know exactly who I am."

The Hyuga prodigy stared at her for a couple of seconds, Byakugan still on. Although her plan was a dangerous one, he knew that this would be the only time she would be able to converse with one of her parents, even if he was the enemy. He knew that if she did not get this chance, it will never come again and she would live the rest of her life with regret. Nodding slightly, Neji grabbed her hand.

"Very well, but you are not leaving my side."

Smiling, she squeezed his hand. "I won't."

Together, the couple ran towards the man just as he was about to fire his weapon again towards other Shinobis.

Acting quickly, Tenten manifested a couple of her Kunais from a small scroll and hurled them towards him. The weapons landed around him in a circle, the final kunai purposely scraping his left arm and leaving a small cut. The man lowered his weapon and turned around, keeping a calm demeanor as the two ninjas approached him. Looking at the shorter one, the girl, his eyes narrowed.

"Looks like you survived my attack," the man said, "However, I find it foolish that you are trying to engage in a fight with me knowing that I can kill you both without having to be near either of you."

Tenten bit her bottom lip as she tried to form her words. How should she start? He was looking directly at her, and suddenly, his eyes narrowed, as if searching for something within her. His gaze went to her right hand, watching as small but visible blue particles began to swarm around it.

"You have the gift, yet you wear the same uniform as everyone-" He stopped speaking as everything dawned on him. His comrades had told him how Mila Rose had escaped from captivity, and how they knew that she would be coming to this land. They had also told him how they had found a Traveler in this land. This must be the girl, and if his instincts were correct…

"You must the child Mila Rose escaped with years ago," he said, watching as the girl's eyes widened. Ah, yes.

"H-How?"

"Our resemblance is uncanny, even though I can see your mother's features as well."

Tenten's eyes widened. "He remembers my mother?"

"You-You...raped her. That's how I was conceive, right!?"

The man looked at her for a second before shaking his head disapprovingly. "Is that what that red-headed witch told you? That I raped your mother? Did she also tell you that I was the one who helped her and your mother escape right before you were born? Who do you think bought Mila Rose time to escape with you?"

"Did you see that light?!" yelled Naruto as his clones continued to fight the creatures.

"It must be the weapon that Mila was talking about!" Sakura replied back as she tended to Kiba's wounds.

As soon as the battle had started, Sakura created an area for the wounded Shinobis and as far away from the pitch black darkness as possible. Sasuke's fireball jutsu had provided some light for her, which helped her in aiding. Eventually though, the wounded became too much and she needed Ino's help. Considering Naruto's clones were throughout the area, Sakura had asked her friend to search for the Kunoichi. While waiting, more gravely injured ninjas were dropped off at her small station, causing the pink-haired girl to begin panicking.

There were too many…

"What the… Chouji!"

Sakura jumped at Kiba's shout, turning around and gasping at the sight in front of her. Three of Naruto's clones carried a gravely injured Chouji. Right in the center, below his chest and above his abdomen, was a nasty wound and if Sakura's analysis of it was correct, something had gone through the boy's body. Chouji's head was down, and as Naruto's clones placed him down gently by her, Sakura feared that he was dead. As Shikamaru quickly appeared beside her, watching his unconscious teammate with wide eyes, she took Chouji's pulse and sighed in relief.

"He...he still has a pulse! But this wound…" The pulse was small, but it was still there…

"Don't worry about the others, Sakura," Kiba said while limping towards her, "Focus on Chouji!"

"I will! But has anyone seen Ino? I need her help!"

Shikamaru shook his head while watching as Sakura began to cover Chouji's wound with bandages. "I was hoping she would be here with you."

"Would Gaara know where she is? Where's Gaara?" Sakura asked, her hands shaking as she concentrated all of her remaining chakra on the wound.

Before Shikamaru could replied, Temari appeared next to him, her eyes wide. "Gaara went after Ino! She was taken!"

"By Who?"

"...By him…" Sakura replied in fear, thinking about the cruel man in white who had been tormenting with Ino's mind for over a month now.

Although his hand was injured, Ino watched as Gaara effortlessly swung the sand-made sword in order to deflect Victor's attacks. Initially, the man in white assumed that Gaara's weapon wouldn't last long due to its material. Nonetheless, he quickly misjudged the fact that the sand behind the sword was infused with chakra, thus making the weapon deadlier and stronger.

As Victor made a cut by his left arm, Gaara's sword turned to smaller particles of sand before forming into another sharp weapon and wrapping around the man's right arm. The man's eyes widened as he quickly saw the sand compress in-command of Gaara's hand movement, causing his right arm to be amputated.

A painful scream escaped the man's lips as he gripped his arm, blood dripping onto the ground.

"Y-You… You...bastard! You will pay for this!"

"No," Gaara said, the sand-sword re-forming in his hand, "You will pay for everything you've done to her."

While Victor tried to fight Gaara with just one arm, Ino used a large rock as support. The wound by her stomach was still bleeding and she knew that if she didn't close it, she could get an infection and bleed to death. Unfortunately for her though, her chakra was very low and although her injury was serious, she preferred to save whatever chakra she had left for Gaara. Even though the Kazekage had the upper hand, Ino still worried. Even if Victor was only fighting with one arm, the man wouldn't fall back…

Ino knew that she had to do something, she couldn't let Gaara do this alone. And while she stood on trembling legs, an idea struck her. Yes, she would torture him the same way he has tortured her-

"Aaah!" Ino fell back down as a sharp pain was felt by her back. It was like nothing she had ever experienced. Blood quickly dripped down her back.

"What did you do!?"

Victor laughed while showing the weapon to him. "It's called a gun, and I doubt it's something you've ever seen before."

Gaara's eyes were wide with shock as he saw blood dripping down her back.

"This one is a little different though," Victor continued, staring at the weapon with one hand, "It has a silencer, so it won't make a sound when firing. Here, let me show you."

The man pressed something again, and before the Kazekage could comprehend what was firing off, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. There was a small opening on his exterior armour, and Gaara watched as his blood slowly dripped down from it. His heart began to beat faster as his chest compressed, suddenly making it harder for him to breathe.

"Looks like the bullet hit close to your heart," Victor said, limping towards the injured red-head. "Such a shame I missed. But no worries… I can fix that."

Victor raised his gun again, but suddenly froze. His eyes were wide and although he tried to move, he realized he couldn't.

Noticing how frozen in place he was, Gaara turned and saw Ino on the ground with her eyes closed. Immediately, he knew what was going on. She had used her mind transfer jutsu to take control of the enemy.

"You...You're inside my mind!"

"Y-Yes... I ...am!" Ino said between gasps. Her chakra was dangerously low, but this was her only chance to defeat this man.

"H-How? What weapon are you using to do this!? I just shot you!"

"My mind," Ino said, raising her arm, which caused Victor's lone arm to raise as well, "is my weapon".

"Wh-What are you doing?"

The kunoichi didn't respond, instead opening her mouth and placing her fist towards it. Understanding what she was about to do, Victor began to scream.

"No no no! Don't you fucking dare! I swear I will somehow come back and kill you! I will fucking kill you! I will-"

BANG!

Gaara flinched slightly as he saw a small hole appear on the man's forehead, blood quickly flowing down his head and pieces of his skull spilling from behind. The small weapon in his hand, which was pointed towards his own head just a few seconds ago, dropped to the ground. Eyes closed the moment the trigger was pulled and Victor's lifeless body fell onto the ground.

Groaning while keeping his hand to his chest, Gaara quickly walked over to Ino. The wound in his chest made it harder for him to breathe, but he knew that he had to get to her. He knew that her clan's signature jutsu could be dangerous when the user was low on chakra. He mentally prayed that she was okay; that her mind had gotten out before pulling that trigger.

Dropping onto his knees beside her, Gaara cupped Ino's face. "Ino, wake up. Open your eyes."

Her eyes fluttered open before meeting his worried gaze. A small smile appeared on her lips as she touched one of his hands. "We did it… He's gone…"

"...That was dangerous,"

"But...it worked…" Ino said before looking at his bleeding chest. "You're wounded…"

"...I...will be fine…"

"How do we get out of here?" Ino asked, "this is not Konoha. I don't know where we are."

"I think...we are in a different world," Gaara replied, his body becoming weaker by each second. Taking deeper breaths, he laid down next to her, using one arm to hug her form. "He purposely left a portal opened for me to come through. But he left it heavily guarded by those things."

And now, that portal was nowhere to be seen.

Ino could feel her consciousness going and weakly, she turned her head towards her lover, her heart breaking as she saw him having difficulty breathing. They were truly alone now, weak and injured in a world neither of them knew about. And most importantly, how to escape from it.

"Ino…"

"Y-Yes?"

"...Marry...me…"

After several seconds of silence, Gaara opened his eyes to look at her, tears forming in his eyes as he saw hers already closed.

"What is your name?" the man asked, watching as his daughter looked at the ground nervously.

"Tenten…"

"Nice to meet you then, Tenten… my daughter. My name is Jacob."

"Why are you doing all of this? Why are you and your men kidnapping people and hurting them if you truly did help my mom escape?"

Jacob's smile disappeared as he began to walk towards her. "Tenten, my dear, you have no idea how endangered my people are. How every day, we are being tracked by foreign governments. What we are doing is for survival!"

"That still doesn't give you the right to murder people. Why are foreign governments after you? And did that justify raping my mother!?"

"It's a complicated story-"

"I want to know! I want to know everything!"

Jacob looked at his daughter, saw the determination in her eyes. Could he blame her? Not really. He knew that the girl barely knew anything about him, her mother, and the type of world they come from.

"Instead of telling you, I can show you."

Jacob took out a small device and pressed a button. A portal immediately opened, but instead of Hunters coming out from it, unfamiliar objects were seen. Tenten stared at the scene in front of her, not sure what to make of it. She could see stars and the night sky, but everything else seemed strange and unusual.

"Wh-What is… what is this?"

"What I'm showing you right now is part of the world your mother and I come from. Where we come from, none of the things you've been exposed to exists. There's no ninja ...or chakra. But what we have are weapons capable of destroying planets. And these flying objects you see are ships."

"Flying...ships?"

Jacob sighed and walked towards her. "My daughter, you have so much to learn. There is more out there for you than anyone in this world can give you. Come with me. I will show you and teach you everything about the place you truly belong to."

Her father extended his gloved hand towards her, and Tenten stared at it. The battle noise from all around her suddenly muted itself in her head as she thought about her future. For years, she wondered about her parentage, her past. Where did she come from? And the past truly did affect the future. Had she belonged to a clan, she could have been head of some clan. Maybe even a fearless princess. And while she truly loved Neji, she knew that the Hyuga clan had its strict rules, even if Neji's uncle was starting to fully accept her. Even if she married into the Hyuga clan, what would that mean to her? Would she have to become some "substitute Hyuga" and try to become one of them, all while forgetting who she could become?

"What do you say, Tenten? With you by my side, we can restore faith in my people…" Jacob began to walk towards her again, his facial expression softening. " You can help us fight back and I can cease this battle right now. You know that this battle is not what either of us want. You can help end it right now."

Just as he was almost two feet away from her, Neji stepped in front of her, causing the man to stop. "You must be the boyfriend…"

"Don't take any more steps,"

"And here I thought you were just blind," the man said, raising his weapon again, "Tell me, son, how much do you love her? Hm? Is it enough to allow her to blossom into her own person? Is it enough to let her go in order for her to truly see where her parents come from."

"You were the one who assaulted her own mother. You're just trying to manipulate her."

"Tenten, my dear," Jacob said, glancing back at his daughter, who stared at the ground almost uncertainly. "Do you always let this boy speak on your behalf? Or are you going to start following what your heart truly-"

"What lies are you telling her!?"

The trio turned their heads as Mila Rose walked towards them with Hinata closely behind.

Jacob chuckled. "And here's the witch… Tell me, Mila, did you tell her about how you and her mother came to us willingly? How you come to us for help? How we were once allies!?"

Tenten's eyes quickly darted towards the red-haired woman, eyebrows furrowing. Her heart beat faster as she watched the woman look down before looking back at her.

"Tenten…. it was a different time…"

"Have you been lying to me?" the Weapon's Mistress asked.

The woman shook her head. "I have not lied about what I've told you so far."

"So far?!"

"B-But...there is more to the backstory."

Jacob frowned while shaking his head. "Mila, I am disappointed in you… Lying to my daughter. If you truly want to turn her against me, her father, you should've done a better job with your lies."

"I have not lied! I was the one who brought her here…. In order to save her from you!"

"Save her from me?!" Jacob took a few steps closer to Mila now, prompting Hinata to pull out a kunai and stand in front of the woman. "I was the one who helped you two escape! Tenten would have been dead before even leaving her mother's womb if it wasn't for me killing one of my own men! Or… is that something you forgot?"

Mila didn't reply, feeling the heat rise to her face as Tenten stared at them back and forth. She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering the last few words coming from her best friend's mouth just moments before death: take my daughter far away from here. And while yes, Jacob had saved them a couple of times throughout their imprisonment, he still had raped and murdered more people than Tenten could imagine. In the end, she couldn't let the man manipulate her.

"Oh I didn't forget. Just like how I didn't forget how you raped and tortured women almost every day! I remember because I was the one who helped them get cleaned up afterwards! How about you tell your daughter more about that? Maybe she has some siblings out there that she should know about!"

Something inside Jacob snapped, his eyes suddenly narrowing and nostrils flaring as he pulled out a small weapon and aimed it towards her. The rest happened faster than Tenten could register. One moment, Hinata was in front of Mila and the next, Neji had jumped in front of both women.

And although whatever came out of the weapon was small, the loud pop caused Tenten to scream as she watched blood suddenly appear on Neji's shoulder. She ran frantically towards him, watching as he placed a shaking hand on his right shoulder. The blood soaked his uniform quickly, and Tenten turned around to glare at the man responsible for such action.

"What did you do to him?!"

"It's called a gun," he said, "He shouldn't have gotten in the way…."

Before Tenten could yell back at him, a loud roar was heard. The dark fog around them shifted around, and with that, they saw a large Hunter entering slowly from the portal. The beast stood extremely tall with large tentacles hanging from its face.

Naruto and Sasuke immediately raced towards it, combining their Rasengan and Chidori in order to bring down the large beast.

Upon being blasted by the large amount of energy, the creature let out a fowl cry as it stumbled a few feet back. Nonetheless, it was not enough to bring it down, something the surrounding Shinobis realized upon the creature letting out another cry, this time with much more force. The ground shook violently, causing rifts to form. Suddenly, the Hunter began to charge towards a large crowd of Shinobi, its tremendous speed catching all of them by surprise as they stood helplessly before being thrown around violently.

"Don't just stand there! Get out of the way! Bring the injured over here!" yelled Sakura as she helped an injured ninja stand up. She led the injured towards her small area where she continued to treat the wounded.

Tenten, who was now crouched by Neji's right side, looked back at her father.

"Wh-Where are you going!?"

The man, who had opened a portal for himself and stood with half of his body in, glanced back at her. "This is not my battle, Tenten. It's Victor's. We may not be on the same side, but I do not wish to harm you."

The loud growl from the beast made her turn her head quickly. She saw Sakura's panic stricken facial expression as the pink-haired kunoichi stared down at the deceased ninjas with tears rolling down her face. Next to the pile of the deceased was Chouji, who was wrapped in multiple bandages around his torso. He looked pale, his chest very slowly going up and down. Where was Ino? Tenten knew that if they kept going, they would all eventually become as wounded as Chouji (if not worse). She could see the fatigue in her friend's face as she continued to stand there, her chakra low as more bodies began to pile up. And although she couldn't see Ino anywhere, she also knew that Gaara wasn't in the area either. And with Chouji, who had been standing right by Ino's side right before the battle started, critically injured, Tenten knew that something else must have happened.

"I will go with you!" she said, turning back towards her father. "Please end this! I will go with you!"

Mila Rose, Hinata, and Neji looked at her dumbfoundingly, but Tenten continued to glance at the man. There was a long pause before Jacob shook his head.

"No."

"But why?"

"Tenten, there is a lot that you must know, and putting you in that position right now can get you and me killed. You have no idea how other worlds work. There is so much out there that you are entitled to, but things are dangerous. You may be a Traveler, but you are my daughter… and these governments that are after me may not be kind to a girl your age."

"My friends are dying! At least take these monsters back!" Tenten pleaded, watching as Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru were thrown roughly on the ground.

Jacob didn't reply, instead reaching into his pocket before pulling something small out. Afraid it was another weapon, Neji stood in front of her protectively.

"Relax, I am not going to harm her. I am just going to give her this." On the palm of his hand was a ring with a green round marble on top. "My father gave me this when I was very young. When the time comes, you will call me… and I will come. But not today."

"But the monsters-"

"You can save your friends today, Tenten. However, I will be waiting on the other side for when you need me."

And with that, the man fully entered the portal, closing it immediately. Tenten gaped at the leftover blue particles that circulated the area, feeling defeated and once again alone. Her father, who was also a war criminal, just told her that when she truly needed him, that he would be there. Looking down at the ring more closely, she noticed strange carvings on it. Just who exactly was this man? And if he was right about her mother going willingly to him first, then why rape her afterwards? Nothing made sense, and the uncertainty caused anger to swell within the kunoichi.

"Tenten…." Neji's soft voice broke her train of thought as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "We need to finish this."

Tenten nodded as Mila Rose walked over to her. Placing the ring safely inside her pocket, the Kunoichi gave a serious glance at the red-haired woman.

"Once we're done, you need to tell me everything. Is that clear?"

The woman paused for a moment before nodding. "...Y-Yes… but some things…. you may not like."

"I don't care. I deserve to know everything. Now, let's get started with this."

"Very well. Now, for us to do this, you need to concentrate carefully like we practiced before. Close your eyes, and clear your mind."

Tenten did as told, closing her chocolate-brown eyes and calming her breathing.

"Now, concentrate all of your energy in your hands… and when you do… you'll see a blue light… keep your eyes closed. But don't worry, you'll still see it."

Tenten tried her best to remain calm while concentrating everything she had on her hands, all while listening to the sound of dying creatures near her. Although her eyes were closed, she could still see a bright blue light forming.

"Do you see it? Do you see the light?"

"Yes…"

"Good. Make it bigger… make it stronger…"

And she did. With her eyes still closed, she saw the blue light grow thicker and felt it grow stronger. She felt her hands become hot and shake, but she continued to hold Mila's hands. A colossal gust of wind was felt, almost knocking her over and quickly, Tenten opened her eyes. Looking up, the Kunoichi gasped as a large portal opened above them, sucking nothing but the Hunters and the dark fog.

"H-How?"

"While you focused on opening the portal, I concentrated on having it consume only those creatures. It was a trick your mother and I mastered as young girls before we got captured." Mila said sadly while thinking back to that time.

Tenten looked at her with shock and astonishment, imagining a young beautiful woman performing this action. Looking down, the kunoichi saw the same thick blue particle engulf their hands. Around them, the large gust of wind continued to pick up the creatures, violently sweeping them upwards into the sky and into the darkness of the portal.

Having the large Hunter removed proved to be the most difficult, considering its size and weight. The creature sat on the ground, as if holding on as the large gust of wind continued to sweep away the smaller Hunters. Nonetheless, its grip began to loosen as Naruto, Shikamaru, Temari, and Sasuke began to attack it again. As Sasuke managed to cut off one of its hands, Temari used her fan to add more strength to the already large wind. Letting out a hideous growl, the creature slowly entered the large portal, the thick fog going with it as well.

As soon as the thick fog was gone, Shinobis ran towards their comrades, hugging and laughing now that there was finally light again. A few of the men in white remained, all of which were attained by Naruto's clones.

"Start doing a headcount!" Shikamaru yelled before looking upwards at Temari, who was using her fan as a platform feet above the ground. "Do you see Gaara or Ino?!"

Panicking, she shook her head. "No, I don't!"

Cursing under his breath, Shikamaru walked back towards Chouji, who was now being carried in a large stretcher by more medical ninjas. One of his teammates was missing and the other one was close to death.

"If Victor took her and Gaara went after her, where could they have gone to?"

"Maybe one of them knows where that man could have led them to?" Temari said, jumping off her fan and pointing towards the small group of surviving men in white.

Nodding, the couple ran towards them before the Naruto clones could have taken them back to the village for further questioning. Grabbing one of them by the collar of the shirt, Shikamaru threw the man on the ground.

"Two of my friends are missing and unless you don't want to face our leader, who will be less forgiving than any of us, you are going to tell me where your friend Victor lead them to!"

Maybe if he still had Shukaku sealed within him, he could have protected Ino better.

Ever since dating the Leaf Kunoichi, that thought always crossed the Kazekage's mind. Although there was no immediate danger the moment their relationship blossomed, Gaara knew that he still had many enemies and he always feared that one of them would hurt her. Sometimes, he cursed himself for losing the one-tailed beast and never being able to control it for his benefit; just like how Naruto was learning to control his. Had he had Shukaku, he would have let the beast out and kill all of those men, so none of them could have ever put their hands on Ino again…

But it was too late now. All he could do is hold the unconscious girl as close to him as possible as he himself felt his mind drift away. He never expected to die this way, but at least he had her in his arms. At least he was able to look at her beautiful face one more time.

Just as Gaara was about to close his eyes for good, he felt a cold wind pass through him. Lifting his head up weakly, he saw as a blue light appeared before a portal opened, his gaze quickly meeting Tenten's.

Author's Note: Done! I hope you liked this version of chapter 13 better! Next chapter is the last chapter of this fic. Yes, there is a cliff hanger in regards to Tenten's father and I purposely left it at that. You will see (read?) more about it on the next chapter.

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